The Details.....

I had my initial interview for candidacy today.
It went SO well. The pastor in question will heartily recommend me to the committee.
Yay. We're getting there! I need to set up my psych eval. this week.

Wearing your candidate on your sleeve....

Today I found myself looking around at the online stores of the major presidential candidates. It seems to me (being someone who works in marketing and therefore image portrayal, AND internet marketing) that the offerings in these stores, their prices and how they are presented speak a lot to who the candidates are. Or at least, who their merchandise expert thinks they are. So here is what I found, please check them out and offer your reasoning and observations:

Obama: Online Store
First one I went to. You have to work hard to bypass requests to "sign up" and "join" to get to the meat of the site. Observatons:

• The widest selection, especially for shirts.
• Targeted and reasonable pricing. Student aimed merch is cheaper.
• The ladies get decent attention in terms of merch.
• Zip Hoodie: $35
  

Clinton: Hillary Store

• Decent selection.
• Shirts selection was disappointing compared to Obama, but some nice stuff.
• Water bottle! More than one actually, that excites the environmentalist in me.
• Zip Hoodie: $52

McCain: McCain Store
Store is buried in the "Get Involved" drop down from the top navigation bar. Not a natural place to look. All of ya'll candidates should have better links.

• Everything is a "suggested donation", seemingly to justify markups, $75 for a ball cap??

• Clothing is modeled by real people (H and O don't use models) and the real people are very, very white.

• Zip Hoodie: $100!!!!

Rudy:
NO STORE! The site looks pretty pathetic actually.


Mitt Romney: Online Store

• Reasonable pricing.

• Stuffy style for clothing. (blah)
  

• The "other" category referring to all things that are neither shirts nor pins/buttons is heavily male. It has cuff links and money clips. Where's th earrings? Necklace?

• Points for offering A water bottle.

• Have to appreciate the foam catchers mitt.

• Zip Hoodie: $38

Well there is my brief assessment, thoughts?

Update:

I have my initial interview rather soon. A tentative entrance interview date. A sem app that is completed....(i still have to retrofit an essay though)....rec's for sem handed out....and a serious case of senior-itis at my 9 to 5.

I also have a parent who seriously needs to get a hobby.

I'd vote for this baby.....

PRIMARY BABY

The Links (no, no...too cold for golf)

A Sojourners email linked me to the Festival of Homiletics which looks AWESOME. I doubt I can make it but, man.

Anyway, I then found myself over at Prairie Home Companion... and there's this great bit from
"Post to th Host" Garrison's answer to the question includes this "....'I didn't want to show my ignorance' — that's the wrong road for an intelligent young woman to travel. Showing ignorance is how we learn, it's how we get strangers to tell us their stories, it's how we experience the world fully...."

Please check out the full post here.